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Due to changes to 15 year old regulations no Mini's made after 31st December 1988 are now eligible for import. Compliance Update Final stage of the testing for side intrusion bars continue. We have now developed a bar that satisfies the requirements of ADR29 and are confident of a positive test result in the near future. The testing facility we were using no longer tests for ADR's so latest testing will be done in QLD. DOTARS have advised us the test vehicle must be identical to the sample car so we now have special dispensation to import additional car(s) for crash testing. We currently have a second car in Brisbane which will be our primary vehicle on which the official test will take place. Rest assured I will post some pics of this nasty event in the very near future. We also have recently added the Mitsubishi Evolution 8 to our
schedule of cars taking our total model approval to 4. These are the
Nissan Pulsar GTiR, Nissan Skyline R34 - including the GTR, Evolution 7 and now
8 Lancers. On 8 May 2003 the Federal Government introduced a new scheme to administer the importation of used vehicles. The new scheme was announced jointly by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services, and the Minister for Industry, Science and Resources. This followed a comprehensive review of the Motor Vehicle Standards Act 1989. In its deliberation of the report, the Government carefully considered the various arguments and the views put to it by key stakeholders during the extensive consultation process. The new arrangements include the introduction of a Specialist and Enthusiast Vehicle Scheme (SEVS) to determine the eligibility of vehicle models for importation, and replacing type (bulk) approval of Australian Design Rules (ADRs) compliance with vehicle-by-vehicle approval of compliance conducted by registered workshops. This new scheme (SEVS) replaced the existing Low Volume Compliance Scheme (LVCS) that had existed for some years. This scheme was perfectly suited to cars such as the Mini however exploitation of the system by large quantity importation of other models such as the Toyota Surf required fundamental chances that have affected us all. Under LVCS, many models were being imported in direct competition to some Manufacturers who have vested interests in the local car industry. Eventually the Manufacturers were persuasive enough to convince the Federal Government to wipe the slate clean and replace the LVCS altogether. Basically this means in the short term the Mini is not able to be imported into Australia as anything than a personal import. We are working on gaining approval for the Mini however, this is a time consuming process that involves numerous tests and a seemingly endless amount of paperwork. Please feel free to contact us at any time if you require any additional information. However if you don' agree with these regulations, please contact the Dept. Transport and Regional Services in Canberra - I'm sure they'd be pleased to hear from you. Chris Gough. |
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REGISTERED APPROVED WORKSHOP FOR THE SPECIALIST AND ENTHUSIAST MOTOR VEHICLE SCHEME AS DIRECTED BY THE FEDERAL OFFICE OF ROAD SAFETY, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA 3/8 Ketch Close, Berkeley Vale, New South
Wales, Australia, 2261 |